Hayley Berry

Each year, more than 2,000 of Australia’s best young riders compete at the Australian Interschool Championships. The event is a showcase for the country’s most promising equestrians, with perhaps a future Olympian or two in the making taking to the arena. 

Three students from the Melbourne campuses and Haileybury Pangea took part in the 2024 competition in Tamworth, alongside three students from Haileybury Rendall School representing the Northern Territory. 

“The Haileybury equestrian team has had strong representation at this prestigious level for around 15 years, says Wendy Jeffree, Head of Equestrian. 

“The qualification process is rigorous and preparing two athletes – the horse and rider – to be fit and capable takes time and effort, and it is also very difficult to put on your best performance when you are coping with nerves and a new environment. The support of the riders’ families also can’t be under-estimated – it’s a vital part of the sport.”

Avril (Year 11) began riding when she was four-years-old and joined her local pony club. With her horse, Bella, Avril won the National Champion 2* Eventing title. 

“My parents were both involved with horses and my siblings rode, too, so I was bound to start riding at an early age. I aim to train most days after school and always compete or train on the weekends. The hardest part of competing was ensuring that Bella felt good after the 15-hour journey to Tamworth from home. Luckily, she travelled well and the highlight of the event for me was galloping around the cross-country course.”

Pearl (Year 9) got her first pony when she was five-years-old and hasn’t looked back. She was awarded the National Champion 1* Combined Training title. 

“My Mum was a high-level eventing rider and I began competing myself when I was nine. I train every day for three to four hours with my coaches or on my own and I spend most weekends away from home at competitions. I’ve qualified for the Nationals for the past three years but this was the first year I was actually able to compete – last year, a week out from the event I had a bad fall while training and broke my collarbone. I was very happy to finally make it this year with my horse, Red Rue. At the beginning of the year, he had to undergo chemotherapy and had multiple hospital stays so I had less than two months to get him to peak fitness. What I enjoy most about equestrian is how special the bond is between a rider and their horse.”

While she received her first pony when she was eight, Annabelle (Year 8), who attends Haileybury Pangea, began truly learning to ride when she was 11-years-old and began competing a few years later. 

“I’ve always loved horses and now train for around 15 to 20 hours a week. Competing in my first Australian Interschool Championships this year with my horse, Willow, was very exciting and I was so proud to represent Victoria and to be able to compete at a national level. My training throughout the year helped prepare me for the Novice Intermediate Dressage event – that included consistent training and turning up to ride no matter what challenges or weather conditions I faced! There were a lot of highlights such as representing my state, making new friends and meeting Pearl and Avril for the first time.”

Each year, Haileybury’s hard-working equestrian team goes from strength to strength and the number of horse enthusiasts across Haileybury continues to grow. The team is always happy to accept budding new equestrians who would like to develop their skills in the arena and continue the school’s success in the saddle. 

Right now, somewhere on the International Space Station, there are mushrooms. 

They’re not for the astronauts on board to cook and eat for breakfast as they orbit 400km above Earth. These special fungi have been prepared as part of an experiment by Haileybury students who are keen to discover how the fungi will grow and adapt in space. 

They are carrying out the experiment in the latest stage of the Swinburne Haileybury International Space Station Experiment (SHINE) program. 

The program is now in its sixth year and brings together budding school scientists with astrophysicists from Swinburne University who work together to design, test and build experiments destined for the International Space Station. 

More than 40 Haileybury students have so far worked alongside researchers to develop experiments that have explored everything from the nutritional values of space-made yoghurt, the effects of microgravity on tooth decay, and how to grow microgreens in space.

In the latest experiment launched in August, excited Haileybury students watched a rocket payload containing their fungi – Lion’s Mane, Turkey’s Tail and Cordyceps – blast off on board the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of a NASA cargo resupply mission headed to the International Space Station. 

The experiment was featured on A Current Affair on Monday, 26 August and Haileybury students also feature in a new documentary about the emerging space industry called Fortitude. 

“I’ve been really interested in space for a long while, so I think being able to actually contribute to this investigation — it’s kind of a dream come true. I stayed up until 1.30 in the morning to watch the rocket launch and it was amazing” said Tana (Year 11). 

The fungi experiment is being led by Swinburne astrophysicist, Dr Sarah Webb, who is interested in exploring how fungi could support astronaut health for long-duration space missions. She believes mushrooms are not only a potential source of nutrition in space, but their root systems could also be compacted down and be used as building materials. 

She envisages a time and place in space when mushroom farms could appear on the surface of the moon or Mars. 

“Hopefully one day we’d have a little colony on Mars and  potentially all over the galaxy,” agrees Year 11 student, Jessie, who also helped develop the fungi experiment.  

Dale Murchie leads the SHINE program at Haileybury and says it attracts dedicated students from across the School who are fascinated by science and space. As part of the program, students also complete micro-units from Swinburne University that deepen their interest in space science. 

“Students help design the parameters of experiments for SHINE and we receive the scientific data back from the experiments and they then analyse and learn from that information,” says Dale. 

“The mushrooms will be in space for about a month and work is already underway on the next experiment that will launch into space in 2025. That will build on a previous experiment growing microgreens in space. In that experiment, students discovered that a certain type of clover grew better in space than it did on Earth and the next experiment will delve further into why that was the case.” 

To find out what happens to those mushrooms currently on the International Space Station, watch this space! 

How bees inspired learning at the ELC 

At Haileybury’s Early Learning Centre (ELC), children experience a wide array of learning opportunities throughout the year, often driven by their curiosity. This emergent curriculum allows students to explore topics that interest them. This year, a simple observation of bees sparked questions that led to an exploration of the vital role bees play in our environment. 

It all began when the children noticed bees busily working around the gardens. Their natural curiosity led to discussions about bees — where they live, what they do, and why they are so important. Eager to find out more, the children set out on a bee hunt, crafting theories about where they might find bees around the expansive Keysborough grounds. The adventure quickly revealed a fun fact: bees don’t seem to enjoy playgrounds, as they were never spotted on the slide or swings!  

What they did notice, was that the bees really liked being around flowers. This realisation helped to start a conversation about flower pollination and how it is essential to sustaining our natural environment. Bee pollination helps plants reproduce by carrying pollen from one flower to another. Without bees, many of the foods we eat — like fruits and vegetables — would not grow as well, leading to a drop in food production. If we did not have bees, we could lose important plants and food, which would hurt both the environment and us.  

These discussions naturally evolved into a focus on the role of bee hives, and the ELC was able to tap into the unique resources available to them through Haileybury Hive.

The Haileybury Hive program, based at Newlands, consists of active hives managed by Middle School students and dedicated Hive Coordinators. The children were able to visit the hives, observe how bees work and learn how to maintain hive health. These experiences gave them a first-hand look at the importance of supporting bees and their habitats. The students even discussed ideas like creating ‘bee corridors’ (a series of connected green spaces, like gardens, parks, or wildflower areas) and planting flowers that encourage pollination.

Returning from the hives, the ELC set to work preparing a show using all their newfound knowledge, called ‘1, 2, 3 Save the Bees’. Through lively songs the students performed for their families and friends, sharing important messages about sustainability and the role everyone can play in protecting the bees.

This project has not only been fun and but has also encouraged the students to make real contributions to sustainability within their local environment. Through curiosity and hands-on learning, the ELC students have embraced the buzz and learnt valuable lessons about nature and their role in preserving it for the future.